The Best Internet Browsers Reviewed By Users

Mac Internet Browsers

Mac computers have become increasingly popular over the past decade with many drawn to their simple to use interface and stylish graphics.

In this guide we shall look at some of the best internet browsers for use with computers running Mac OS X.

Safari

Safari is one of the most popular choices of internet browsers for Mac users – however, is it the best choice?

Safari is the official Mac OS internet browser and has the benefit of being fully integrated with the Mac OS X system. The main issues that some users have with it are that it has some issues working with Microsoft-based websites such as Hotmail.

The new Safari 4 web browser has been named as the fastest browser in the world (although it largely depends on your computers specifications). It is a very simple to use browser that isn’t as flashy as many of the others. It’s main benefits are that it is speed, has resizable text boxes, snapback and spell checking for all fields.

The main disadvantages are the lack of extension support and no anti-phishing tool.

Safari is a fantastic internet browser for Mac if you only required speed. If you want something more advanced with special features then you may want to try a different web browser.

Opera 9.6

Opera 9.6 is a free web browser that is becoming increasingly popular within the Mac community.

There are plenty of advantages and very few disadvantages to this program. It has many more features than Safari and makes web browsing a lot more fun and functional. It is a very fast and lightweight web browser despite carrying a huge number of unique features including: customizing skins, thumbnail previews, mouse gestures and an interactive voice.

The main disadvantages to Opera 9.6 are the lack of widgets and additional add-ons.

Mozilla Firefox 3.5

Over the past few years Firefox has grown to become one of the most popular Mac web browsers in the world. It is a free program and its speed and performance runs parallel to some of the other leading browsers including Safari and Opera.

The newest Firefox release has many additional features including a fresh new interface and private browser mode. There is also now a built-in spell checker, customization options and instant website I.D.

The new Mozilla web browser also offers excellent support and a faster JavaScript engine to previous versions. There is also now a cross-platform version for Mac and Linux users. The only noted disadvantage is the slow start up.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is one of the newest additions to the internet browsers for Mac collection. It was incredibly hyped up before its release – so was it worth all the hype?

When it was first released it was only available to Windows users, however it has now expanded to Mac and Linux platforms. This is fortunate for Mac users because it is a fantastic choice for a web browser. It incorporates all the most important requirements of a web browser – speed, simplicity and compatibility.

It has a state-of-the-art user-friendly interface that is kept clean and simple with only minimum buttons. Some of the great features include: drag, drop and rearranging of tabs, great task manager options and thumbnail images of your most visited sites. The main disadvantage is that it lacks the same amount of add-ons as its competitors. However, it is new so there’s no doubt you will see more from Chrome in the future!

Camino

Camino is a less well-known internet browser for Mac, but it is the browser of choice for many dedicated Mac users around the world.

Camino features the same engine that is behind Mozilla and is specifically designed for Mac OS X users. Whilst much of it is similar to Mozilla Firefox it is based around the Apple Cocoa Framework unlike Mozilla that is based off a cross-platform scripting language meaning that it works much better with Mac OS X. It is able to use many of Mac OS X features such as the built-in spell checker and the services menu.

Camino also offers all the functionality and style that is expected from Mac OS X programs.